Why People like Papercrafting…

First and foremost, paper crafting is a form of creativity and self-expression. Papercrafting allows you to design and create something unique and personal. Papercrafting allows you to put your own spin on something and make it your own.

Second, paper crafting can be a relaxing and therapeutic activity. It allows you to step away from the hustle and bustle of busy lives, slow down, and focus on something tangible and hands-on. It can provide a sense of accomplishment and pride in the finished product.

Finally, paper crafting can also be a social activity. Above, my daughter, Karen Seely, and I went to Denver last weekend to attend the Scrapbook Expo Crop where we met other like-minded paper crafters and made perhaps, lifelong friends. Whether it be sharing ideas with friends or joining a community of crafters online like our Thursday night free virtual crop. Papercrafting allows people a opportunity to connect with others who share the same interests and passions.

Overall, paper crafting offers a diverse range of benefits and joys, and that’s why so many people enjoy it. Whether it’s for the creativity, relaxation, or social aspect, there’s something for everyone to enjoy in paper crafting.

If you are interested in a link to the virtual crop, please text me at 801-800-0884 so I can get you hooked up!

If you have any thoughts on the subject, please leave them below,

Creatively,

Carol

My Hometown Scrapbooking Reasons

Scrapbooking about your home townWhat do you miss about your hometown? Growing up, what were the little things that made
it important to you? Reminisce in the form of a list and jot down memories as they pop into your head.  Journal specific things you want to remember.

  • The drive-in theater. What movies did you see there? ls it still around?
  •  How often did you go to the library? What was the librarian like?
  •  What’s unique about stores such as the pharmacy, grocery store or
    ice-cream parlor?
  •  lf a friend came to town, where did you take her for fun? Did
    you go to the golf course? The video store?
  • What special landmarks does your town have? ls there a train
    station? A duck pond?
  •  What about the government buildings? Was there something special about the fire station or
    the post office?
  •  What school did you go to? What was great (and not so great) about that particular school?
  •  How many playgrounds were there?
  •  Who were your favorite neighbors?
  •  Did you have a secret hangout?
  •  Think nature. Were there interesting parks to hike in? Walking trails?
  •  To create a sense of unity in a two-page layout, place a ribbon in a strip across both pages.
  • To emphasize a subtitle, place it inside a metal bookplate.

If you have any questions, please leave a comment below.

Creatively, Carol

The Untimely Death of a Scrapbook

untimely death of a ScrapbookDeath of a scrapbook may sound dramatic, but I have had to witness this and it is painful. Although this page is an artistic treasure with captivating photos, it could end up in the trash in 75 years. It lacks the essential component of journaling. Without even bare­ bones journaling, future generations won’t have a clue as to who the people are, how they are related, or even when the event took place.

This is a particular I am having issues with as I go through my mom’s things. We have been transitioning her to an Independent Living facility, and while some people wrote on pictures… I mean LITERALLY WROTE ON PICTURES! I have many a stack of unnamed pictures and only my mom and my aunt will have any clue as to who is in the photos. My job is to find out who they are before their minds are no longer helpful.

Sitting in my mother’s house in Orinda, California piling books in boxes to go away when I came across a very ornate photo album. The photos look of the 1890’s but there is not a single word about who the people are, or who the album even belong to. You see, she rescued it from the book room donations where she volunteered. The scrapboook/photo album was heading for the dump.

I released the ornate metal clasp and the album opened to reveal beautiful pages, each framing a professional black-and-white photo. The photos showed babies, family groups, and couples, all clad in expensive late-19th-century attire. My 60+ year-old heart ached for the family that had discarded this part of its history

As a seasoned scrapbooker, I knew the problem: The album held, not a single clue as to who the people in the album were.

In fewer than 75 years the nameless subjects of the Victorian photo album became meaningless to the person who had inherited it. (This is my secret fear, so I am trying to put more thought into my journaling).

Scrapbooking has brought about an awareness of preserving family memories. The goal is that future generations-even third, fourth, and beyond will be able to see themselves in the faces of their ancestors. They will also be able to see the world in the timeframe the photo was taken. I love the picture I found of my mother at age 3 sitting on the hood of a ’49 Ford.

Cherished Memories or Trash?

Are we creating cherished treasures of family history or trash for the 2070 version of a landfill? Will we leave behind useful and pertinent information or beautifully crafted pages that will be worthless mysteries to our descendants?

In his work as a research scientist at the Image Permanence Institute at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, Daniel Burge has seen dozens of orphaned photo albums. The one thing all of the discarded albums have in com­mon is an absence of meaningful labeling, he says. scrapbook life insurance. There is lots of pertinent information including the name of the person and their beneficiary.

“An image becomes meaningful only when we know who we are seeing,” Burge said. “If we can’t make a connection to that image, we usually feel no need to keep the photograph. ”

Although better than nothing, the words “You and Grandma Mary” written below a photo leaves a lot to speculation. Conversely, “Seth Michael Lincoln and Grandma Mary Todd Lincoln” is loaded with infor­mation. The second label not only identifies the faces in the photo, the inclusion of Grandma’s maiden name tells future generations that they are descended from the Todd line.

Take the test

I am not suggesting all scrapbookers become hard-core genealogists, but that we leave enough clues to make our albums meaningful to our future generations. Take this test and apply it to each of your albums. Put yourself in the shoes of your own great-grandson (born after your death) as he looks through an album you made 75 years ago. His mother inherited the book from her father, who had inherited it from you. Distance and expense limit visits with family, and each generation has had less and less contact.

Now your great-grandson and his wife are disposing of his mother’s things. Is there enough information in your album to make it worth keeping? Or do you hear the wife saying, “It’s pretty but who are these people? Our house is cluttered enough. ” Goodbye, album. Hello, city dump!

What to include

Follow these simple tips to ensure that your descendants will treasure your scrapbooks.

  • Be a forward thinker. Assemble your albums with the distant future in mind.
  • Label, label, label the photos on each page in case the page is ever separated from the album.
  • Record surnames throughout each album. Yes, even the surnames of your own children. I find this tough when I have 10 pages of photos of my mother growing up, putting her name and year on each one feels excessive until you tell a story about the photo, event, or person.
  • Include maiden names now and then, especially on pages that include extended family It’s a simple way to show family ties.
  • Label in the first person sparingly. It’s OK to refer to yourself as Mom sometimes, but make sure your name is also included
  • Put a date on every page. The ‘Johnny’s 16th Birthday” page will have more meaning in 2070 if the reader isn’t wondering if the party took place in 1990 or 2010. If it doesn’t work on the front, sign and date the back of your pages.
  • Briefly explain family connec­tions. They needn’t be clever nor lengthy.

For those who still think journal­ ink detracts from the beauty of the album, think about how seeing the album in a landfill someday would detract from its beauty. •

Let Me Introduce You!

Happy May Day! I love this day because it reminds me of flowers, and there is stunning beauty in nature.

Today is the day I because a Stampin’ Up Demonstrator. The new website address is www.CreativelyCarol.stampinup.net. You will find at 1pm, central time, the new offerings created by Close to my Heart. One or two of Close to my Heart’s designers have also come to Stampin’ Up and will be putting together a wonderfully inspired scrapbooking line.

There is a new catalog active beginning today. I will get a link up as soon as I remember how to do it!